STL-52 Five-Two For Tele
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 28, 2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 79.95

Purchased from: Musiciansfriend.com

Sound: This is a great pickup. Output is slightly higher than the stock pup. I run it through a FM212 with a DS-1 distortion, and obviously, a Telecaster. This pickup has the high-end "twang" you buy a Tele for, and it has surprisingly clear and present bass, when you want it too. I can get that heavy palm mute sound you hear in modern rock/metal songs, along with the sparkling trebly cleans you hear in early rock/rockabilly songs. It's mids are nothing to brag about, but nothing to complain about either. Nothing about this pickup is muddy. I have it for the bridge position, but it's available for the neck too. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I can't imagine anything making this thing stop working, short of a brick falling from the sky and landing on my guitar. It's as dependable as a golden retriever. I had a little trouble getting it set up because I'm using it with the stock neck pickup, and they're out of phase, so you have to reverse the wiring and cut the jumper cable(took me forever to figure out what the jumper cable was, it's a little wire on the bottom of the pickup). // 10

Overall Impression: My favorite thing about this pickup is it's clarity. Even with thick distortion, there's no mistaking what your playing. The only thing I don't like about this pickup is the harshness it has when you play it alone. I couple it with my neck pickup pretty much all the time, whether I'm playing rhythm or lead. I have this installed in the bridge position of my 2006 MIM Telecaster. // 9